Richard Heslop

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Richard Heslop, an assistant solicitor doing domestic conveyancing at Freeman Johnson, was found to have acted dishonestly by falsely witnessing Ms O's signature on a TR1 form (she was not his client and denied signing), and by repeatedly misleading two sets of clients (S and G) over more than a year that litigation had been commenced and won, awarding them £35,000 and £30,000 respectively, when no proceedings had been taken. He also improperly obtained money for a disbursement by cancelling S's bills without partner permission and improperly transferred £360 from one client's account to another's. The Tribunal found dishonesty proven under the Twinsectra test (admitted by the Respondent). Finding no exceptional circumstances, the Tribunal struck him off the Roll and ordered costs of £12,667.96.

Duties found breached:

• Proper basis for allegations
• Uphold public trust in the profession
• Handle inadvertently received material
• No improper use of client money

Aggravating factors:

• Three separate serious acts of dishonesty
• Dishonest conduct sustained over more than 12 months, not a single moment
• Clients S and G suffered direct harm and were repeatedly misled
• Ms O suffered adverse consequences from falsely witnessed signature
• Respondent admitted he knew it was wrong
• Actions on 13 March 2009 taken deliberately after careful thought

Mitigating factors:

• No previous disciplinary record
• Young solicitor, aged 30, qualified only four years
• No direct financial gain
• Admitted all allegations including dishonesty
• Asserted (unsupported) breakdown/critical period of disordered thinking